Unseasonal heavy rainfall creating perfect conditions for Port Pirie mosquito population

Mosquito numbers in an SA regional city are set to explode, with “ideal conditions” providing the perfect breeding ground for the pesky insects.

Heavy rainfall not typical of the area could impede the council‘s efforts to stay on top of pest management according to Environmental Health Officer Brian Sickles.

Residents of an Upper Spencer Gulf city could be heading for their worst mosquito season in years.

Tropical weather conditions and strong rainfall in Port Pirie have provided the ideal breeding grounds for the pesky insects, according to Port Pirie Regional Council environmental health officer Brian Sickles.

“The weather since 2018 has been unusually mild during summer and humid, so we’re not getting a lot of the hot desert days where everything would dry,” Mr Sickles said.

“We’re getting the ideal circumstances for mosquito breeding where it rains then we have hot sunny days where mozzies can mature very quickly.”

Since 2016 the council has outsourced its mosquito control programs, which combined with ideal weather conditions has seen the number of complaints received from residents drop dramatically in the past five years.

Port Pirie is set for a bumper mosquito season. Picture: File

Mr Sickles said that could change this year, despite prevention methods being put into place as the weather warms up.

“It usually starts around the third week in October, it’s pointless when it’s raining as a lot of the ways they treat mosquitoes is to prevent the larvae from becoming adults with agents that layer across the top of pooled water near stormwater drains etc,” Mr Sickles said.

“Within the first two years of outsourcing I couldn’t count on one hand the number of complaints we’ve had, less than five.”

In the past month Port Pirie residents have taken to online forums complaining about the current mosquito presence.

“I have been in Port Pirie 20 years and it has been a long time since I've seen mozzies this aggressive,” resident Jon Fairburn said.

Heavy rainfall not typical of the area could impede the council’s efforts to stay on top of pest management, according to Mr Sickles.

“Because all these larvae sites have films that lay across the surface, as soon as you get any rain they wash away.” Mr Sickles said.

“It’s not cheap to do so we try protect the investment in the public health of the program by waiting as long as we can.”

The council’s upcoming mosquito review is due in 2023.